The present invention relates to the production of a design on an arcuate or irregular surface. More particularly, the invention relates to method and apparatus for transferring a flat design onto an arcuate surface.
Multi-colored metal designs have been produced on flat surfaces using conventional photographic masking techniques to allow successive selective etching and/or metal deposition corresponding to each color effected, as in U.S. Pat. No. 2,731,333 to Ko. Such surfaces can then be curved or pressed into a desired shape, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,503,815 to Johnson. However, this procedure is limited by the extent and manner in which the surface can be formed without marring the design.
It is also known to engrave arcuate surfaces, such as by use of a pantograph device, as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,830,136 to Sprenger. However, such a device normally is not used to produce a complicated or fancy design because of the substantial hand labor which is necessary. It is not readily adaptable to mass production of highly patterned bowls, jewelry, bells and the like.